2001 Audi S4 - Quick Fit

“My mom had a silver B5 Audi S4 Avant I learned to drive in,” Ken Stevens reflected. Years later and after a totaled S4, blown engine and a night in jail, its hard not to be impressed with Ken’s newly built Audi!

Lets rewind to the beginning. After passing his test, Ken picked up his first Audi – an S4 sedan with manual transmission. He started adding basic mods planning for K04 turbos. Unfortunately, a careless driver totaled the car before the hardware could be installed.

After salvaging a few parts, including the RS4 grille and E-code headlights, Ken discovered an ’01 S4 with AWE stage 3 kit. However, the party was spoiled when the engine grenaded three years later.

Devastated, Ken found another replacement at 034 Motorsport in Fremont, CA.

They swapped everything over to the new engine and Ken became a regular customer, later earning a job at the shop, consulting on customer builds.

After commuting to work, Ken’s oil consumption was horrible. Hesitant to pull the engine, he started to plan a build of his own.

Using the original blown engine, Niles Williams, senior performance tech at 034, built the project and fabricated parts.

Firstly, the 2.7-liter V6 block was bored to 2.8L and equipped with Integrated Engineering rods and JE pistons. A pair of 2.8-liter big-port heads were then assembled with Supertech valves, ti retainers and springs.

Ken chose to go with 034’s billet aluminum Motorsport fuel rails housing 750cc EV14 injectors from the RS4. They would compensate for the air pressurized by two Tial GT28 turbos that feed into Wagner RS4 side-mount intercoolers and 034’s carbon fiber Y-Pipe.

The hot gases are channeled through 034 custom 3” downpipes with external wastegates attached, before exiting through a 3.5” exhaust system that creates a menacing growl.

The stock ECU has custom 034 software with switchable maps for race gas and 91-octane as well as anti-lag.

With all this equipment, Ken is optimistic about seeing 800 crank horsepower on race gas when his S4 gets its final tune on the dyno.

To handle this grunt, the transmission was rebuilt with JHM shift collars as well as updated synchros and a center differential. More recently, a South Bend clutch was installed to grab the 034 aluminum flywheel.

For better traction, 18x10” Rotiform IND wheels were added to the mix. But with the camber later adjusted for style, and 225/40 R18 Federal 595 tires stretched over them, it doesn’t find the traction it will need. As a result, acceleration in first and second is greeted by a flickering traction control light…

Up front, a Rotora big-brake kit was installed. The improvement altered the brake bias, so Ken evened it out by adding 034 rear caliper brackets to enable 300mm slotted Adam’s Rotors to be run.

Suggested Speed Limit
As you may have guessed, this powerful S4 was getting Ken into trouble with the authorities. After spending a night in jail and having his Audi impounded for 30 days, Ken figured a lower stance would keep his lead foot in check for fear of rubbing the fender liners.

Therefore, StaSIS SS coilovers were spun down to achieve the lowest possible stance. After a small incident with a tire mangling his front fender in a hard corner, Ken took the S4 to White Oak Auto Body in Campbell, CA to have the fenders pulled correctly. At the same time, the RS4 bumper was molded and the vented carbon hood painted.

The wheel arches now sit 23" from the ground. And if you were to throw a party in his driveway, beer bottles are unable to roll underneath. Ken’s now a fan of the “low ’n slow” lifestyle but admitted “I skipped the slow part and made it more about show!”